Two weeks before the 2026 primary elections, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a tip line for reporting suspected voter fraud, emphasizing his commitment to stopping illegal voting. Paxton stated, “Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of a thriving republic, and with the authority granted to my office by the Legislature, we will stop at nothing to uncover and stop any illegal voting activity.”

However, records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune indicate that Paxton may have voted in six elections over the past two years using an address where he did not live, including the May runoff that secured his Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

Angela Paxton, in a 2025 divorce filing, accused him of adultery and said he moved out of their Collin County home a year earlier. Election lawyer Beth Stevens, affiliated with the Harris County clerk and the Texas Civil Rights Project, commented, “So long as you truly intend to return, I think you’re fine. When you start doing things that suggest, ‘Oh, I’ve fully moved,’” it becomes problematic.

David Becker, a former Justice Department voting rights lawyer and current director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, noted that Paxton’s public and contentious split from his wife could make it difficult to argue he intended to return to the Collin County home they own and where she still resides. Becker added the situation is especially concerning given Paxton’s role enforcing election laws.

Further complicating the matter, in mid-February, a trust purchased a $2.4 million home in a gated community in Denton County, Texas. Despite this, Paxton remains registered to vote in Collin County and has voted there since February.

Paxton has also publicly opposed voter identification rules requiring Texans to provide driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers for mail ballots, as noted in a 2021 Fox News interview.

This situation raises questions about adherence to Texas election laws, especially given Paxton’s vocal stance against illegal voting.

Sources